Mandy Moore Canceled Her Family Christmas Plans to ‘Hunker Down at Home’ With Husband Taylor Goldsmith

Mandy Moore is staying home for Christmas. Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the This Is Us star opened up about her holiday plans in a Thursday Instagram post, revealing that she and husband Taylor Goldsmith made the difficult decision to cancel their Christmas plans to see family.

Sharing a sweet photo of herself and Goldsmith, with whom she is currently expecting her first child, at the piano, Moore wrote that he was “sending all the well wishes for a happy and healthy holiday to you and yours, no matter what our celebrations might look like this year.” The actress went on to reveal that she and her husband “cancelled plans to see family” and would instead be “hunkering down at home” due to the pandemic. Doing so, she said, would allow them to stay “safe,” and Moore revealed they intended to spend their quieter holiday season “binging plenty of tv and eating lots of baked goods.”

“The holidays are a tricky time, exacerbated all the more by this wild year…. so I’m holding extra space for those who have lost a loved one or a job, those weathering this time solo or away from loved ones, those just overwhelmed by the magnitude of all this year has been….. We got this, friends,” she concluded the post. “As the inimitable [Glennon Doyle] says: we can do hard things. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Xoxo.”

Moore and Goldsmith’s decision to forego their traditional family gathering during the holidays comes amid the pandemic, with the U.S. currently seeing a surge in positive COVID-19 cases, resulting in hospitals being overwhelmed. As the holidays approached and fearing a surge on top of a surge, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued guidelines for safe holiday celebrations. The agency noted the “safest way to celebrate the winter holidays is to celebrate at home with people who live with you,” recommending that people not travel for the holidays and only celebrate in-person with those in their immediate household.

Moore, who married Goldsmith in 2018 and is expected to welcome their son sometime in 2021, is not the only celebrity adhering to these guidelines. Earlier in December, Ryan Reynolds told fans he would also be celebrating at home with wife Blake Lively and their three daughters – Inez, 4, James, 6, and 14-month-old Betty. The Deadpool star acknowledged that “it sucks” that his “kids won’t see their grandparents this year for Christmas. Or friends or aunts and uncles,” though he said “hat’s off to so many others” who were choosing to do the same to keep themselves and others safe.